satipanna / sati sampajanya

[bhavana123]

Dear dhamma friends,

I would like to know more, about how is practically principle of sati panna and sati sampajanya applied in the general context of dhamma practice and vipassana in particular. What do they have in common and in which way they differ? Thank you, all the best, B

[Ceisiwr]

Sati is memory, or remembering. Specifically it’s remembering the teachings regarding wholesome and unwholesome states. Others would include remembering the object of meditation within the definition. It’s not awareness or “bare awareness”. Sampajañña is clear knowing or understanding what is being done in the present moment.

[SarathW]

Clear comprehension ( sati-sampajañña) is most famously invoked by the Buddha in tandem with mindfulness practice in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta:

Herein (in this teaching) a monk lives contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief;
he lives contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief;
he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief;
he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampaja%C3%B1%C3%B1a

So sati-sampajañña means the completion of four Satipathana.

[Ceisiwr]

Clear comprehension ( sati-sampajañña) is most famously invoked by the Buddha in tandem with mindfulness practice in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta:

Herein (in this teaching) a monk lives contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief;
he lives contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief;
he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief;
he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampaja%C3%B1%C3%B1a

So sati-sampajañña means the completion of four Satipathana.

Yet there are suttas where it precedes it.

[DooDoot]

So sati-sampajañña means the completion of four Satipathana.

Wrong.

Yet there are suttas where it precedes it.

I would like to know more, about how is practically principle of sati panna and sati sampajanya applied in the general context of dhamma practice and vipassana in particular. What do they have in common and in which way they differ? Thank you, all the best, B

Dear dhamma friend

I have never read the term "sati-panna" in the suttas; even though the term is commonly used in contemporary Buddhism (such as in this book).

'Sati' means to 'keep in mind' and 'sampajana' is the 'situational wisdom' that sati keeps in mind, i.e., the specific understanding required in a specific situation.

Sati-sampajana are pre-requisites for vipassana. That is, sati-sampajana establish & maintain concentration (samadhi) or clarity of mind and it is clarity of mind that naturally or automatically has vipassana (clear seeing of how things really are).

This video is useful:

[bhavana123]

Dear dhamma friends, thanks for your kind answers and references, it helped me.

With regard to what Ven. Ajahn said in the video, isnt there a difference, whether one practices samata and vipassana? I mean the object of samata
needs to be a single, solid concept or object, while in vipassana the awareness is open to any phenomena arising in a given moment.

I have heard the term sati panna in a dhamma talk of Ven.Sumedho..I guess or believe its somethis like seeing the 3 universal charactiersitics on the basis of a well established sati...

Thank you, best wishes, metta
B

[befriend]

Purpose suitability domain and non delusion are the 4 attributes of sati sampajanna or mindfulness with clear comprehension these apply to actions with purpose meaning why are you doing this action suitability means is this appropriate timing for action domain is 4 foundations of mindfulness body feelings mental states and dhammas non delusion means seeing things as Annica Dukkha Annata. Please correct if I'm wrong.

[SarathW]

Purpose suitability domain and non delusion are the 4 attributes of sati sampajanna or mindfulness with clear comprehension these apply to actions with purpose meaning why are you doing this action suitability means is this appropriate timing for action domain is 4 foundations of mindfulness body feelings mental states and dhammas non delusion means seeing things as Annica Dukkha Annata. Please correct if I'm wrong.

I think this is the most sensible answer.
But we have to support this with a Sutta reference.

Mindfulness (sati): this is alertness, which makes us aware of what is happening to us, from moment to moment, through the five physical senses and the mind. Mindfulness is essential to insight meditation, when it must be conjoined with a clear comprehension of the suitability, purpose, and conformity with reality of any action. Then it is called right mindfulness (sammaa sati). Usually the average person acts without any form of mindfulness; his acts are prompted by force of habit. Right mindfulness has two functions: one is to increase the power of recollection and the other is to evaluate what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. Right mindfulness is a spiritual faculty that maintains a proper balance of the other faculties — faith, energy, concentration and wisdom.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... el322.html

[DooDoot]

But we have to support this with a Sutta reference.

Mindfulness (sati): this is alertness, which makes us aware of what is happening to us, from moment to moment, through the five physical senses and the mind. Mindfulness is essential to insight meditation, when it must be conjoined with a clear comprehension of the suitability, purpose, and conformity with reality of any action. Then it is called right mindfulness (sammaa sati). Usually the average person acts without any form of mindfulness; his acts are prompted by force of habit. Right mindfulness has two functions: one is to increase the power of recollection and the other is to evaluate what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. Right mindfulness is a spiritual faculty that maintains a proper balance of the other faculties — faith, energy, concentration and wisdom.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... el322.html

The above is both wrong and not a sutta reference. Sutta references that explain mindfulness are MN 117, SN 46.3 and SN 48.10. Sampajana is found in SN 47.35, where the key word is "viditā", which means "understood". For example:

Because I understand the diversity of faculties as it applies to this person.
Indriyavemattatā hi me, udāyi, imasmiṃ puggale viditā.

MN 66

However, I have understood individual differences.
Api ca mayā puggalavemattatā viditā”ti.

SN 12.17

[SarathW]

[quoteOne quality that's always appropriate in establishing mindfulness is being watchful or alert. The Pali word for alertness, sampajañña, is another term that's often misunderstood. It doesn't mean being choicelessly aware of the present, or comprehending the present. Examples in the Canon shows that sampajañña means being aware of what you're doing in the movements of the body, the movements in the mind. After all, if you're going to gain insight into how you're causing suffering, your primary focus always has to be on what you're actually doing. This is why mindfulness and alertness should always be paired as you meditate.][/quote]
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... fined.html

[DooDoot]

[quoteOne quality that's always appropriate in establishing mindfulness is being watchful or alert. The Pali word for alertness, sampajañña, is another term that's often misunderstood. It doesn't mean being choicelessly aware of the present, or comprehending the present. Examples in the Canon shows that sampajañña means being aware of what you're doing in the movements of the body, the movements in the mind. After all, if you're going to gain insight into how you're causing suffering, your primary focus always has to be on what you're actually doing. This is why mindfulness and alertness should always be paired as you meditate.]

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... fined.html

wrong again. if i am aware of what i am doing when i kill or steal, obviously this is not sati-sampajana. sampajana means to understand what the body & mind are doing rather than to be aware of what the body & mind are doing

Suppose there were a row of blind men, each holding on to the one in front of him: the first one doesn't see, the middle one doesn't see, the last one doesn't see.

MN 95

SATI
Sati is the quick awareness and recall of the things which must be recalled. It must be as quick as an arrow. We also can describe sati as a vehicle or transport mechanism of the fastest kind. This most rapid transport doesn't carry material things, it carries [recalls] wisdom and knowledge. Sati delivers paññä (wisdom) in time to meet our needs. Through the practice of mindfulness with breathing, sati is trained fully.

SAMPAJAÑÑA
The second dhamma is sampajanna. Sampajanna is wisdom as it meets up with and immediately confronts a problem, as it deals with and wipes out that problem -- this is wisdom-in-action. It is only that wisdom specifically related and applied to a particular situation or event. Nonetheless, you may have come across a variety of translations for "sampajanna," which can be rather confusing. We recommend that you remember it as "wisdom-in-action." Even better, learn the Pali word about which there is no doubt. The word "wisdom" encompasses many meanings and understandings, we can't even begin to estimate its content. However, the word "sampajanna" is far more limited in its meaning. It is exactly that wisdom directly needed for the problem that confronts us. Active wisdom isn't general, it is a matter of particulars.

The same holds for the word "Dhamma," which has an incredible variety of meanings, depending on how it is being used. When Dhamma is applied to solve a specific problem, event, or situation, there is a specific Dhamma particular to that situation. The meaning is limited to the occasion and its circumstances. In this case of Dhamma solving problems, the most precise and proper term is "dhamma-sacca" (Dhamma-Truth). Dhamma-sacca is the particular dhamma called for by the immediate situation with which we must cope, be it the onset of spiritual disease or exposure to the germs of spiritual disease. It is the use of just the right thing in a specific incident or event.

We can compare Dhamma with the medicine chest in our house. In it we store a wide variety of drugs, pills, capsules, ointments, powders, and syrups for possible use. When we're actually sick, we must choose from among the many the one drug which will be effective in treating our ailment. We can't take them all; we take just what is needed to cure our illness here and now. The same is true for Dhamma. Understand that there's an incredible amount of what we call Dhamma and paññä, but that we only apply a little bit at a time. We apply just that portion which can take care of the immediate situation. Know how to use the Dhamma, the paññä, which is exactly relevant to our situation and problem. The Dhamma or wisdom which controls that situation and problem is what we call "sampajanna."

http://dhammatalks.net/Books/Bhikkhu_Bu ... sease2.htm

[SarathW]

One who knows in a right way, in totality through one's own wisdom is sampajana. These definitions convey the same sense as found in the canonical texts of anicca (impermanence), and its continuity. In the commentaries and the subcommentaries, sampajanna is also elaborated in a fourfold way-

satthaka-sampajanna (purposeful sampajanna),

sappaya- sampajanna (beneficial sampajanna),

gocara-sampajanna (domain sampajanna),

asammoha-sampajanna (non-delusion sampajanna).

https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/ques ... %B1%C3%B1a

[SarathW]

In another word "sati sampajanna" means "mindfulness with wisdom"

[DooDoot]

One who knows in a right way, in totality through one's own wisdom is sampajana. These definitions convey the same sense as found in the canonical texts of anicca (impermanence), and its continuity.

https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/ques ... %B1%C3%B1a

The above is confusing therefore cannot be sampajana.

Sampajana is not "knows in a right way, in totality through one's own wisdom". Knowing though one's own wisdom is "vipassana".

Sampajana is understanding something using the Buddha's wisdom. The Buddha teaches us "X, Y, Z" then we apply what the Buddha teaches us. This is sampajana. For example, Buddha teaches us self-clinging causes dukkha so we prevent or abandon self-clinging using this wisdom/sampajanna.

Sampajana can also be applying our own previous vipassana. But sampajana is always the application of past knowledge. The 1st sampajana is the knowledge we learn from the Buddha and we apply this learned knowledge.

[SarathW]

One who knows in a right way (the way Buddha taught and remembering it) , in totality through one's own wisdom is sampajana.